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Amharic - አማርኛ | Arabic - عربي
Bengali - বাংলা | Chinese (Simplified) - 中文（简体）
Chinese (Traditional) - 中文（繁體) | French - Français
German - Deutsch | Gujarati - ગુજરાતી
Hindi - हिन्दी | Indonesian - Bahasa Indonesia
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Portugese - Português | Russian - Русский
Spanish - Espanol | Tagalong / Filipino
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The Urdu of Saudi Arabia

The Urdu of Saudi Arabia, numbering approximately 2,150,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a South Asian diaspora people of Urdu-speaking heritage, largely descended from migrants from Pakistan and northern India who maintain a shared identity rooted in the Urdu language and broader Indo-Muslim cultural traditions. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Urdu is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Urdu

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Saudi Arabia
People Cluster: Urdu
Primary Language(s): Urdu (urd)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 2,150,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG011938
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Pray for the Urdu of Saudi Arabia

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Pray Now!
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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Urdu
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Urdu Speakers

Media Resources in Urdu:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film
MagdalenaView Film
The SaviorView Film
The SaviorView Film

4 films

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Urdu:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Easy-to-Read Version✓✓
Geo Version✓✓
Geo Version✓✓
Geo Version✓✓
Pakistan Bible Society✓
Revised✓

6 entries

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Urdu bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Urdu are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Urdu:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Urdu of Saudi Arabia

Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.
readIsaiah 45:22

Pray for many lost people to turn to the Lord, finding forgiveness and salvation in Him, for He is the only way to true life and restoration.

For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples.
readLuke 2:30

Pray that the lost will see the salvation of God, and that they will trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?
readPsalm 56:10-11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will trust in the Lord's promises, knowing that He will uphold them with His righteous right hand.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
readEphesians 6:10

Ask God to strengthen believers with His mighty power so that as they cross cultures to share the gospel, they will stand firm against the schemes of the enemy.

Urdu Across Countries (ROP3 - 110423) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

22 people groups

PhotoPeople Group ID ▼NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
PakistaniPG043672PakistaniUnited States668,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG043498UrduCanada221,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG042482UrduFrance110,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG042368UrduBelgium9,900Unengaged and UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
PakistaniPG042350PakistaniSpain92,500Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG024601UrduTurkiye27,000Unengaged and UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG024025UrduAfghanistan20,500Unengaged and UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG019330UrduMalaysia17,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG016370UrduGuyana4,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG012261UrduUnited Arab Emirates253,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG011938UrduSaudi Arabia2,150,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG011911UrduQatar180,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG011895UrduOman137,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG011809UrduKuwait4,200Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG011725UrduIraq4,600Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG011308UrduBahrain78,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
PakistaniPG010932PakistaniThailand5,600Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG006413UrduPakistan17,580,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG000693UrduUnited Kingdom1,220,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG000304UrduIreland9,400Unengaged and UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG000277UrduGermany96,000Engaged yet UnreachedUrduSunni Islam
UrduPG000100UrduDenmark26,500Unengaged and UnreachedUrduSunni Islam

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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